Alpine: Renault not pushing for changes to F1's 2026 engine regs

Alpine team boss Otmar Szafnauer says engine manufacturer Renault is unlikely to request an adjustment to F1's 2026 power unit regulations following the concerns recently expressed by Red Bull.

In Austria earlier this month, Christian Horner expressed his fears that the sport's next set of regulations could create a "technical Frankenstein" in F1, or a blend of chassis and power unit characteristics that could undermine the show on the track.

Formula 1's next-generation PUs will evenly divide the power generated by the internal combustion engine (ICE) and by the increased battery and hybrid system.

However, according to Horner, worries have surfaced during Red Bull Powertrans' most recent development work regarding the risk of drivers experiencing battery depletion halfway through a lap or having to perform unconventional actions, like downshifting on a straight.

Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff suggested that his Red Bull counterpart's comments were motivated by a desire to protect his own competitive interests, while Ferrari's Fred Vasseur said that it was too early to make any assumptions on the effect of the rules.

However, the Frenchman admitted to being open to an adjustment of the 50/50 balance between ICE and battery output, even by just 5% in favour of the ICE.

In Viry-Châtillon, Renault's engineers claim that they are happy with the engine rules as they currently stand.

"Speaking to the powertrain guys we want to keep it as is," the Alpine team boss commented, quoted by Motorsport.com.

"Now I don't deeply follow it, I wasn't involved in the negotiations and the reasons why, but I asked them those questions. And yeah, we're happy to keep it as is.

"So I would imagine it's going to be unlikely that it's changed."

• Read also: Horner rebuts 'typical' Wolff on 2026 F1 engine claims

Szafnauer agreed that it was early days still – for Alpine – in the development phase of F1's next-generation power unit, and that Horner's concerns were perhaps unwarranted.

"We haven't quite gotten that far yet," he said. "We haven't determined that yet. I hope it isn't a Frankenstein package.

"I remember being in all the meetings to determine what the regulations are now, and everybody, including me, said all the racing is going to be horrible, all the cars are going to look the same, it's not going to be F1 anymore, and all that.

"That really didn't happen. So it's hard to predict the future, especially when the [chassis] regulations haven't been determined. So hopefully, we'll get there."

Szafnauer also questioned Horner's assertion that Red Bull is further ahead than its rivals in the development of its 2026 PU, a claim made without knowing where other manufacturers currently are in their R&D.

"It's one of those things where you have to have perfect information to be able to compare those two things," said the American. "And I don't. I know where we are. I don't know where the rest of them are.

"I worked at other engine manufacturers before. So I can only imagine what Honda have done already, once they've decided that they're going to be in. So I'd be surprised [about Red Bull]."

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